(2020-08-13). Why Cuba is winning the fight against COVID-19. workers.org 
Nathaniel Chase This article is a lightly edited version of a talk given Aug. 6 during the Workers World webinar entitled, "War on the Working Class: a Socialist Response." I'd like to talk about another country's response to the new coronavirus. The steps it has taken to protect its workers' . . . |
(2020-08-13). Venezuelan Oil Output Remains at Historic Lows as Sanctions Continue to Bite. venezuelanalysis.com US sanctions have caused the Caribbean nation to lose three oil supertankers.
(2020-08-13). Haitian teachers protest school reopening. peoplesdispatch.org Several dozen teachers and activists organized a rally on Monday August 10 outside of the Haitian Ministry of National Education and Professional Training. They were protesting against the decision taken unilaterally by the Minister Pierre Josué Agénor Cadet to reopen schools, which was done without consulting other actors that are crucial to the proper functioning of the Haitian education system. They also demanded better working conditions for teachers in Haiti. | "We do not have a problem with reopening schools, it is normal that it happen, but it would be necessary for it to be planned in complete collaborati…
(2020-08-13). PM Keith Rowley claims victory in general elections in Trinidad and Tobago. peoplesdispatch.org According to Trinidadian trade unionist Ozzi Warwick, Rowley's neoliberal policies remain a matter of concern but his competitor towed a dangerous anti-integration, pro-Trump line…
(2020-08-13). Xinjiang And Uyghurs — What You're Not Being Told. popularresistance.org Like a few other provinces, Xinjiang is an "autonomous" region, which means it is run by Uyghurs for the most part. For example, the current "governor" is Shohrat Zakir, an Uyghur man who's been in charge since 2014. | Also to remember are two nuggets of information: Xinjiang is a really vast region — it's four times as large as California(!); and Uyghurs make up only about 40% of Xinjiang's population. Overall, Uyghurs account for only 0.7% of China's population. That's about the same percentage as the Native American population in the U.S. now.
(2020-08-12). Illegal terror against im/migrants continues. workers.org 
By B.L.S. San Antonio, Texas "They told me not to tell my family where I was," a Haitian asylum-seeker recounted. "I heard people being taken away in the hall [of the hotel] screaming, 'I'm not going! I'm not going!'" An im/migrant Haitian mother and her daughter are incarcerated by ICE . . . |
(2020-08-12). Video: Lights, Camera, Action: Staging of Protests in Belarus. globalresearch.ca In Belarus presidential elections were held. According to the Central Election Committee, the turnout was quite high and amounted to about 84% of the population. The results of the exit poll confirm the victory of the current President of Belarus, …
(2020-08-12). Peru hit hard by second wave of COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org Peru has been hit by a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the country began to ease lockdown restrictions at the beginning of July, in the same month it experienced a slight increase in the number of coronavirus cases. In the first ten days of August, the daily new cases have spiked sharply. With a population of 33 million, Peru is reporting more than 7,000 new cases everyday. Following the concerning surge in infections, President Martín Vizcarra has reimposed a state of emergency with general quarantine measures and curfews until the end of this month. | Currently, Peru is the third worst-hit country i…
(2020-08-12). Guyana Geopolitics: Washington's New Game Plan Against Venezuela. globalresearch.ca Having gained its political independence a few decades ago, Guyana is a small South American country with little international relevance. Without major economic or geopolitical projections, the country has agriculture and mining as its main activities, not being a fully …
(2020-08-12). Chile's Militarisation of the Araucania Influences Racism Against the Mapuche Population. strategic-culture.org As Chile shifted its attention to the coronavirus pandemic, which brought out the country's widespread social inequalities, the state's aggression towards the Mapuche people went on unhindered. In June, President Sebastian Piñera
(2020-08-11). Era of US Domination of Latin America Coming to an End. dissidentvoice.org 
Marcha en Venezuela contra las sanciones de Trump (Reuters) Despite its failings at home, the United States intervenes in countries across multiple continents seeking to control their governments and resources. This week, we look at the US' latest efforts in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Bolivia to undermine their independence and force them to serve the interests of …
(2020-08-11). New Alternative Left Alliance Forms In Venezuela. popularresistance.org Merida – Two major Venezuelan left-wing parties have announced that they will not be backing government candidates in the upcoming December 6 parliamentary elections. | For the first time, the Homeland for All Party (PPT) and Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) are set to lead a broad alternative coalition for the 277 seats up for grabs. Apart from the two parties, the inaugural Popular Revolutionary Alternative(APR) will look to incorporate trade unions, social movements, LGBTIQ groups, communes and campesinos organisations, as well as a range of smaller leftist currents.
(2020-08-11). There is No Evidence That Generous Unemployment Benefits are Making It Difficult to Find Workers. counterpunch.org 
The July employment report showed the economy adding another 1,761,000 jobs in July. This follows gains of 2,725,000 in May, and 4,791,000 in June, leaving the economy down 12,881,000 jobs from its February level. The unemployment rate fell from 11.1 percent to 10.2 percent, while the employment to population ratio (EPOP) rose from 54.6 percent
(2020-08-11). Cuba's doctors to the rescue. peoplesdispatch.org The efforts by Cuba's Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade have been the most significant example of medical internationalism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The brigade was set up in 2005 by Fidel Castro.
(2020-08-11). Workers Struggles: The Americas. wsws.org Dominican public defenders have completed a three-day strike over delays in salary payment while over 2,000 workers who build customized tunneling equipment in Kentucky have been out since August 4.
(2020-08-11). 34 Attorneys General Call to Bust Gilead's Pharma Monopoly on COVID Treatment Remdesivir. counterpunch.org On August 4, nearly three dozen attorneys general representing nearly 60 percent of the U.S. population published an open letteraddressing top federal health officials. Even by the standards of an increasingly heated and high-stakes debate over drug prices, the letter is a remarkable document. With clarity and urgency, the signatories push the federal government to
(2020-08-11). Reducing the Progression of Myopia. jamanetwork.com Myopia, or nearsightedness, causes blurry vision that usually is corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgery. The lifetime prevalence of myopia has been reported to be 80% to 90% in population-based studies in Asia. Myopia is also very common in other parts of the world, with a prevalence of almost 50% in many parts of Europe and an estimated increase in prevalence from 25.0% in 1971-1972 to 41.6% in 1999-2004 in the US.
(2020-08-11). Feds: High Extinction Risk for All Seven Leatherback Sea Turtle Populations. indybay.org Atlantic Population Faces 50% Drop by 2050, Pacific Declining 5% Annually…
(2020-08-11). The AFL-CIO Aided US Interference in Venezuela. popularresistance.org The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Solidarity Center has a long history of working hand in glove with the U.S. government in undermining democracy and left labor movements throughout the world. | The center emphasizes it has shifted away from these Cold War tactics in recent years. But newly obtained documents show that the Solidarity Center has worked closely with the US to undermine the Venezuelan government in the recent past. Across much of the world, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) acted as an international a…
(2020-08-10). Headlines for August 10, 2020. democracynow.org Lebanon Unrest Mounting as Death Toll from Catastrophic Port Blast Tops 200, Trump Signs Executive Orders After Coronavirus Bill Stalls, Dems Say They Are Unconstitutional , U.S. COVID-19 Cases Top 5 Million, with More Evidence of Infections in Children and Teens, Coronavirus Surging Across India, Brazil as Europe and Cuba Reimpose Containment Measures, Hong Kong Arrests Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Under National Security Law, Protesters Take to Streets of Belarus, Accuse Officials of Fraud After Lukashenko Claims 80% of Vote, Mauritius in State of "Environmental Emergency" as Tanker Leeches Fuel into Protected Areas,…
(2020-08-10). As Indigenous Peoples, We Are Resilient. globalresearch.ca Today, we celebrate the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples and all Indigenous leaders who have been fighting for our rights. Today, we remember the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations that took place in …
(2020-08-10). Era of US Domination of Latin America Coming to an End: Nicaragua, Venezuela, Bolivia. globalresearch.ca Despite its failings at home, the United States intervenes in countries across multiple continents seeking to control their governments and resources. | This week, we look at the US' latest efforts in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Bolivia to undermine their independence and …
(2020-08-10). How the U.S. Failed at Its Foreign Policy Toward Venezuela. counterpunch.org 
On August 4, 2020, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Venezuela. Appearing before the committee was U.S. State Department Special Representative Elliott Abrams. Abrams, who has had a long—and controversial—career in the formation of U.S. foreign policy, was assaulted by almost all the members of the Senate committee. The senators, almost
(2020-08-10). Venezuela Parliamentary Elections: PCV & PPT Build 'Alternative' Left Alliance. venezuelanalysis.com The Popular Revolutionary Alternative (APR) looks to include grassroots movements but not the ruling PSUV.
(2020-08-10). Nicaragua — Singing in the Rain. The USAID Project to Destroy the Sandinista Movement. globalresearch.ca Only the most perverse kind of ideology-derived inertia explains the stupidity, incompetence and criminality of current US foreign policy towards Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Stupid for being based on the insane messianic 19th Century Monroe Doctrine vision of Manifest Destiny, …
(2020-08-10). La partition du Liban est-elle maintenant envisagée? thealtworld.com À l'issue de la guerre civile de 1975 au Liban, l'accord de Taef (un des pires accords de l'histoire) a été signé entre les belligérants. Il remettait le pays entre les mains des seigneurs de la guerre qui dirigent aujourd'hui le Liban avec leurs enfants. Ils s'emploient diligemment depuis à s'accaparer les deniers publics, à mal gérer le pays et à offrir à la population un minimum d'infrastructure vitale. Ils se cachent derrière les chefs religieux, qui sont prêts à offrir leur protection à ces seigneurs tant qu'ils conservent leur part du gâteau gouvernemental attribué à chacune des 18 religions libanaises, en…